THE BEAUTY OF POETRY IS THE BEAUTY OF LANGUAGE

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen and thank you all for coming!

Welcome to our poem competition! What famous poets do you know?

Look at the blackboard, where you can see some of them. And today we will remember their poems.

Allow me to introduce our participants!

Today you will recite poems in English and our highly-respected jury will find out who can do it very well. Don’t be shy, dear participants; try to act out the poems artistically and in a natural manner.

Let’s start! Good luck! Чтение стихотворений учащимися.

Тексты стихотворений.

My dog Jack

I have a dog,

His name is Jack,

His coat is white

With spots of black.

I take him out

Every day,

Such fun we have,

We run and play.

Such clever tricks

My dog can do,

I love my dog,

He loves me, too.

Honey is sweeter than sugar

Honey is sweeter than sugar,

Coffee is stronger than tea,

Juice is better than water,

You can’t be smarter than me.

A peach is sweeter than a cake,

A sea is deeper than a lake,

A boy is noisier than a bee,

A girl is shorter than a tree.

How soon do the streams softly flow?

When do the first flowers gently blow?

Where do the strong winds suddenly go?

Why do the plants slowly grow?

I don’t know.

But the wind is blowing lightly.

The sun is shining brightly.

High up in the tree A bird sings merrily.

And the streams will flow,

Flowers will blow Winds will go,

Grasses will grow, even if I don’t know  

Fred comes from school one winter day  

As clever as can be,

And wants to show to all around  

How smart a boy is he.

And so at dinner he begins:

“Papa, you think you see

There are two chickens on that dish,

But  now I’ll prove that there are three:

First, this is one and that is two,

As plain as plain can be.

I add the one into the two,

And two and one make three!”

“Just so,” answers his Papa,

“If what you say is three,

I will take one, Mamma takes one,

The third we’ll leave for you.”

  Фред приходит co школы одним зимним днем Настолько умным, насколько может быть, И хочет показать всем вокруг Насколько он умный мальчик. И так на ужине он начинает: “Папа, ты думаешь, что видишь Два цыпленка на блюде, Но теперь я докажу, что их три: Во-первых, это один, а это второй, Это очень просто. Я добавляю один к  двум, Один и два – это три!” “Именно так” отвечает его Папа, “Если ты говоришь, что цыплят три, Я возьму одного, мама берет одного, Третий же достанется тебе. 

Красивое стихотворение про Рождество.

Shopping, shopping, Christmas shopping.

Mums are hurrying — running, hopping.

Presents, boxes everywhere,

Cards and crackers, teddy-bears,

Lots of useless pretty things:

Candles, tinsel, golden rings,

I’ve been doing shopping too.

Look at me: you’ll see it’s true:

Messy clothes and messy hair —

Christmas, Christmas everywhere

  Покупки, покупки, рождественские покупки. Мамы спешат — бегут, прыгают. Подарки, коробки везде, открытки и хлопушки, плюшевые медвежата, Много бесполезных симпатичных вещей: Свечи, мишура, золотые кольца, Я также ходил по магазинам. Посмотрите на меня: Вы увидите, что это правда: Неопрятная одежда и взъерошенные волосы — Рождество, Рождество везде.

I want to be an actor, Dad. I want to go on stage.

You should be a banker, Tom, and earn a decent wage.

I want to be a barber, Dad. I want to do people’s hair.

You should be a pilot Tom, and work for British Air.

I want to be a clown, Dad. I think I am very funny.

You should be a driver, Tom, and earn a lot of money.

I want to be a barman, Dad, so I can drink a lot of beer!

A barman! You are joking, Tom. That isn’t a career!

I want to go into politics, Dad, and put the country right.

I think that’s an excellent idea. Let’s tell your mother tonight.  

If all the seas were one sea,
What a great sea that would be!
If all the trees were one tree,
What a great tree that would be!
And if all the axes were one axe,
What a great axe that would be!
And if all the men were one man,
What a great man that would be!
And if the great man took the great axe,
And cut down the great tree,
And let it fall into the great sea,
What a splish-splash that would be.

Кабы реки и озера
Слить бы в озеро одно,
А из всех деревьев бора
Сделать дерево одно,
Топоры бы все расплавить
И отлить один топор,
А из всех людей составить
Человека выше гор,
Кабы, взяв топор могучий,
Этот грозный великан
Этот ствол обрушил с кручи
В это море-океан, —
То-то громкий был бы
треск,
То-то шумный был бы плеск.

***

Our family comes from around the world

Our family comes From around the world
Our hair is straight
Our hair is curled
Our eyes are brown
Our eyes are blue
Our skins are different colors too
We are girls and boys
We are big and small
We are young and old
We are short and tall.
We are everything
That we can be
And still we are
A family.
We laugh and cry
We work and play
We help each other
Every day
The world is lovely place to be
Because we are a family. [3]

Sonnet

I wish I could remember that first day,
First hour, first moment of your meeting me,
If bright or dim the season, it might be
Summer or Winter for aught I can say;
So unrecorded did it slip away,
So blind was I to see and to foresee,
So dull to mark the budding of my tree
That would not blossom yet for many a May.
If only I could recollect it, such
A day of days! I let it come and go
As traceless as a thaw of bygone snow;
It seemed to mean so little, meant so much;
If only now I could recall that touch,
First touch of hand in hand - Did one* but know!

Сонет
Если бы я могла (хотела бы я) вспомнить тот первый день,
Первый час, первый миг встречи с тобой
Яркое или мрачное время года, это могло быть
Летом или зимой, насколько я могу сказать,
Настолько незамеченным это ускользнуло
Настолько слепа я была, чтобы видеть и предвидеть
Настолько глупа, чтобы заметить начало расцвета,
Которое расцвело лишь через много майских месяцев
Если бы только я могла вспомнить его - такой
День из дней! Я позволила ему прийти и уйти
Бесследно, как таяние прошлого снега
Казалось, он значит так мало, а значил так много,
Если бы только сейчас я могла вспомнить, то прикосновение.
Первое прикосновение руки к руке – Никто, кроме одного, не знал об этом.

***
At the zoo

I saw, I saw, I saw
A lion at the zoo,
I saw, I saw, I saw
A baby tiger too.
I saw, I saw, I saw
A big grey kangaroo.
I saw, I saw, I saw
I saw them at the zoo.
***

Listen to the rain
Listen! Listen!
Listen to the rain.
Tapping, tapping
One the windowpane.
Listen! Listen!
Listen to the rain.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter,
One the windowpane.

***

My dear Mummy

My dear, dear Mummy,
I love you very much.
I want you to be happy
On the Eight of March!
My dear, dear Mummy,
Let me kiss your face,
I want you to be happy
Today and always!

***

The little jumping girls

Jump, jump, jump, jump away
From this town into the next today.
Jump, jump, jump, jump over the moon;
Jump all the morning and all the moon.
Jump, jump, jump, jump all night;
Won't our mother's be in a fight?
Jump, jump, jump over the sea;
What wonderful wonders we shall see,
Jump, jump, jump, jump far away;
And all come home some other day.

***

My dog Jack

I have a dog,
His name is Jack,
His coat is white
With spots of black.
I take him out
Every day,
Such fun we have,
We run and play.
Such clever tricks
My dog can do,
I love my dog,
He loves me, too.

***

Round the New Year Tree

New Year Day, happy day,
We are all glad and very gay!
We all dance and sing and say,
"Welcome! Welcome! New Year Day!
Singing, dancing merrily,
Round the New Year Tree,
Merrily, merrily, merrily,
Round the New Year Tree.
Happy New Year, my friends,
Happy New Year today!
Let us dance hands in hands.
I will show you the way.

***

The Monkeys and the Crocodile

Five little monkeys
Sitting in a tree,
Teasing Uncle Crocodile
Merry as can be
Jumping high, jumping low,
"Dear Uncle Crocodile,
Come and take a bite!"
Five little monkeys
Jumping in the air,
Heads up, tails up,
Little do they care.
Jumping far and near:
Poor Uncle Crocodile,
Aren't you hungry, dear.
***

Shoes

My father has a pair of shoes
So beautiful to see!
I want to wear my father's shoes,
They are too big for me.
My baby's brother has a pair,
As cunning as can be!
My feet won't go into that pair,
They are too small for me.
There is only one thing I can do
Till I get small or grown.
If I want to have to wear my own.

Big Ban
Big Ban is high above the town,
It is a symbol of the Crown.
Its sight is handsome in the noon,
At night, it's shining like a moon.
It has as many as four faces.
The deep voice's heard in many places
Its work is industrious, in fact.
It tells the time to everyone,
The job is said to be well-done.
Sometimes its stroke is like a call
Of old Sir Benjamin Hall.

The Arrow and the Song by Henry Longfellow 
I shot an arrow into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For, so swiftly it flew, the sight

Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For who has sight so keen and strong,

That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak

I found the arrow, still unbroke;

And the song, from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend.

Стрела и песня
Стрелу из лука я пустил
Не знал я, где она упала;
Напрасно взор за ней следил,
Она мелькнула и пропала.
На ветер песню бросил я:
Звук замер где-то в отдаленьи...
Куда упала песнь моя
Не мог сказать я в то мгновенье.
Немного лет спустя, потом
Стрела нашлась, в сосне у луга,
Свою же песню целиком
Нашел я в теплом сердце друга.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Show the flag and let it wave
As a symbol of the brave
Let it float upon the breeze
As a sign for each who sees
That beneath it, where it rides
Loyalty to-day abides

Show the flag and signify
That it wasn't born to die
Let its colors speak for you
That you still are standing true
True in sight of God and man
To the work that flag began

Show the flag that all may see
That you serve humanity
Let it whisper to the breeze
That comes singing through the trees
That whatever storms descend
You'll be faithful to the end

Show the flag and let it fly
Cheering every passer-by
Men that may have stepped aside
May have lost their old-time pride
May behold it there, and then
Consecrate themselves again

Show the flag! The day is gone
When men blindly hurry on
Serving only gods of gold
Now the spirit that was cold
Warms again to courage fine
Show the flag and fall in line!